Opinions on the HO scale NJTDOT U-boats from Atlas

Went to All Aboard on Saturday and I saw two Atlas made U boats with the NJTDOT scheme and yes it did have the Erie logo on the front and rear of the engine. what is your opinion on them? do they run good and are worth the $90-$100? I myself wasn't too impressed and do hope Atlas wil come out with somethign better like the NJT GP-40. They should since they already came out with an AEM-7and an F-40 in NJT colors. I love the GP-40s. Does anyone know if NJT ever used two U boats and 2 GP-40s on a train and if so what line, when and how many cars were on the train,

Thanks in advance.

Vishal

NJTRailfan wrote:Went to All Aboard on Saturday and I saw two Atlas made U boats with the NJTDOT scheme and yes it did have the Erie logo on the front and rear of the engine. what is your opinion on them? do they run good and are worth the $90-$100?

I have the exact model you're talking about, the Atlas U36 (U34CH) with dark blue EL/NJDOT paint.

It runs EXCELLENT, just like every Atlas locomotive. It is certainly worth its price.

NJTRailfan wrote:I myself wasn't too impressed

I don't know exactly what you mean by this, but in case you're not aware, the Atlas U33C/U36C models originally came out a decade ago, in 1995. At the time they were state-of-the-art, the first locomotives to come equipped with a DCC receptacle. The past ten years have seen incredible advances in the detailing and overall quality of most model locomotives, so there's really no direct comparison to today's new products. I guarantee that you would be impressed, though, if Atlas did a modern re-release of the U33C/U36C.

NJT does not own any GP40s, so it wouldn't quite be correct for Atlas to release one. They do have four GP40-2s, but those are not equipped with head-end power so they are not used in revenue service. NJT does have quite a few locomotives that were rebuilt from GP40s, known now as GP40PH-2s or GP40PH-2Bs. There are a number of variations among these units, and they are quite different from standard GP40s, so even if Atlas did offer GP40s painted for NJT, they'd be incorrect.

Also, it was the ALP-44 that was offered by Atlas in NJT paint, not the AEM-7. Atlas never made an F40PH either, it was Walthers and Bachmann and Life-Like who sold them in the NJT paint scheme.

Visit http://www.hobokenterminal.com/ for all the NJT info you will ever need. And then of course there's Microscale, who make decals that you can use to paint a model for NJT on your own.

Pardon my mistakes them. Maybe if they did do a modern rerelease of the U-Boat it would look alot better. Well I do hope Atlas can release some sort of GP-40variant under NJT paint. I just love that engine and it's a shame that Bachman, Atlas or Athearn have not doen anything like that. I was hoping anyone of these companies could do an FL-9 with NH and Metro North Paint. Those would really sell off the shelves. I'd persoanlly buy two each like I did with the M&E Alcos alogn with many others.